Introducing the ASPeCt Scrolling Story
We are excited to unveil the new sea ice scrolling story. This engaging resource has been meticulously crafted to deepen your understanding of sea ice and its critical role in our climate system. As global sea ice levels reach alarming lows, it is more important than ever to educate our community about these changes. This beautiful narrative illustrates the significance of sea ice and its impact on our planet.
Introducing the ASPeCt Sea-Ice Cards
We are thrilled to present the ASPeCt Sea-Ice Cards, an essential tool for conducting shipboard observations in the Southern Ocean. These cards provide comprehensive guidelines for classifying sea ice and recording essential data.
Key features of the ASPeCt Sea-Ice Cards include:
- Baseline Variables: Users can document crucial sea-ice variables such as sea-ice concentration, type, and thickness. This includes measurements from overturned floes, ensuring detailed insights into sea-ice characteristics.
- Floe Classification: Cards allow observers to categorize floe sizes and describe topographic features like ridging and consolidation, which are vital for understanding ice dynamics.
- Snow and Open Water Analysis: The cards offer descriptors for snow types and open water gaps within the sea ice, assisting in the assessment of area-averaged surface albedo.
- Data Recording: For ongoing accuracy, observers are encouraged to estimate ice and snow thicknesses for randomly selected floes hourly.
Additionally, the ASPeCt Sea-Ice Cards provide links to data sheets and software, as well as references to other observation protocols, such as IceWatch for the Arctic and MANICE from the Canadian Ice Service.
By utilizing these resourceful cards, researchers and observers can effectively compile and analyze valuable sea-ice data, contributing to our understanding of this vital component of the climate system.
Founded in 1996, the ASPeCt (Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate) Expert Group made its mission to increase understanding of Antarctic sea ice within the Earth system so as to improve the predictive skill of numerical simulations for future emission scenarios.
Within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Physical Sciences program, ASPeCt provides the international science framework to direct sea-ice zone research undertaken by national Antarctic programmes, coordinate piggy-bag research, i.e., in partnership with the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), and co-design and coordinate large international science initiatives, such as the International Polar Year, to achieve maximum scientific and logistic effectiveness.
ASPeCt is co-sponsored by Climate and Cryosphere (CliC), a key initiative of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). Here, ASPeCt will leverage the WCRP's track record in Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) to understand the required improvements in the representation of sea-ice processes to reduce model biases. ASPeCt also includes a component of data rescue of valuable historical sea-ice zone information.
ASPeCt Terms of Reference are listed below.
For more information, see the SCAR website.
- Standardization of sea-ice observing protocols, sea-ice core measurements, and sea-ice station sampling.
- Archive data from ship-based observations, sea-ice thickness profiles, sea-ice core analysis and snow measurements, including snow pits.
- Provide a metadata directory pointing to experiment data sets and buoy data.
- Sponsor workshops and conference sessions.
- Coordinate international collaboration on experiments.
- Facilitate data exchanges and joint analyses.
- Collaborate with relevant scientific expert or action groups to jointly develop system-based research solutions.
- Foster interaction and collaboration between scientists, technical experts and engineers to advance scope and skill of sensors, build integrated sensor packages and automate observing and analysis techniques.
- Coordinate exchanges of data and ideas between sea-ice observers and climate modellers with the aim of improving climate models.
- Provide expertise and consultation to SCAR, CliC, and WCRP and broadly on Antarctic sea ice.
ASPeCt leadership structure consists of two Co-Chairs, both reporting to SCAR and CliC.
Other roles within the steering committee include an Early Career Scientist, and a Communication and Data Executive.
ASPeCt’s Scientific Steering Committee hold workshops every one to two years (approximately) to report on research, present plans and coordinate between national programs. All scientists with an active interest in Antarctic sea ice research are invited to participate in these meetings. Please express interest via the contact form on this page.
For the ASPeCt Implementation Plan check the ASPeCt Science [https://aspectsouth.org/science] summary.
Prof. Stefanie Arndt
Stefanie is affiliated with the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the University of Hamburg in Germany. Stefanie's interest is on Antarctic sea ice with view to understand how the snow cover impacts the sea ice via a range of fluxes and interactions. Her work includes the deployment of snow buoys (automomous drifters) and other equipment to measure exchanges at the sea-ice surface, and how snow and sea ice interact with the broader climate system.
Dr. Petra Heil
Petra is affiliated with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the Australian Antarctic Programs Partnership (AAPP) at the University of Tasmania. Her research focuses on complex systems in the polar regions, particularly Antarctica, and how they connect with the wider Earth system. Petra has conducted extensive fieldwork, including process studies, long-term observatories and is a proponent of networked science as well as effective science to society.
Prof. Marilyn Raphael
Professor Marilyn Raphael
Marilyn is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she specializes in climate science, atmospheric dynamics, and polar meteorology. Her research focuses on understanding climate variability and change in polar regions, particularly in Antarctica.
Prof. Steve Ackley (Past Chair)
University of Texas, San Antonio, United States
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Germany
Los Alamos National Laboratory, United States
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), United States
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), United States
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and Australian Antarctic Programs Partnership (AAPP), University of Tasmania
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and Australian Antarctic Programs Partnership (AAPP), University of Tasmania
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Germany
Institute of Low Temperature Science Hokkaido University, Japan
University of Cantebury (Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha), New Zealand
University of Otago (Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka), New Zealand
University of Colorado, USA
Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat and Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (LOCEAN-IPSL), France
British Antarctic Survey (BAS), UK
Archive for ASPeCt scientific steering group
Scientific Steering Committee
Dr. Petra Heil
Co-Chair
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the Australian Antarctic Programs Partnership (AAPP), University of Tasmania, Australia
Prof. Marilyn Raphael
Co-Chair
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States
Prof. Stefanie Arndt
Communications and Data Expert
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and University of Hamburg, Germany